AUGUST 1, 1914 



605 



Heads oi Qrmm fromi 



DiffeFeet Fields 



^-v^M. j 



THE BACKLOT BUZZER 



When a hee stings a beekeeper, it isn't news; hut 



when a beekeeper stings his bees, it is. Speakin' of 



foul brood, any man who permitted it to thrive in his 



hives would give a dog hydrophobia if he bit the dog. 



Imbedding with the Wires Slightly Loose 



H. H. Root, in his article on " putting foundation 

 in wired frames," in Gleanings, Nov. 15, 1913, 

 says: "It is not an easy matter to imbed wires out 

 of line." Then editorially, in the Jan. 1st issue, 

 this statement is made: "Some of our readers got 

 the idea that the wires in the frames are loose." Mr. 

 Root is right as to the difficult " cross-grain " im- 

 bedding; but I don't imbed them that way. I imbed 

 them practically wholly in a straight line, but have 

 the wires slightly loose, as some of your readers 

 suppose. How do I do this ? By taking hold of the 

 wire about two inches from the end of the frame, 

 and pulling it down or up as required about Va of 

 an inch, and imbedding this short angle, then reach- 

 ing across to the other end of the frame, and pulling 

 the wire down or up like the opposite end, so that 

 the greater part of it follows an exact line of cells, 

 where it is then imbedded, finishing up last with the 

 remaining bend. 



Doubtless many apiarists have seen enough of 

 " buckled " brood and extracting combs (I have) to 

 have been glad to exchange them for straight onco 

 with a ten-dollar bill. Foundation expands with 

 heat; and the reason horizontal wiring came to re- 

 place vertical wiring is because the lesser distance, 



number of wires, and length of wires, permitted of 

 some " give " or " go " with the expansion. But in 

 our wire-imbedding we did it thoughtlessly, acciden- 

 tally deviating the right way as well as the wrong 

 way when we didn't go straight. Then when we 

 deviated the down way with the lower wire, also 

 perhaps hiving an extra-strong swarm, with, too, a 

 series of extra hot days at hand, we would get 

 buckling to the extreme. 



And we should remember that " buckling " is not 

 the only thing to look out for. While the lower edge 

 of the foundation gets none of it, the upper part gets 

 full ; and the weight of the bees sometimes stretches 

 the cells adjacent to the top-bar into a size in which 

 drones will be raised if we do not take precaution 

 against it in the low imbedding of the upper wire. 



Sterling, 111., April 1. A. B. Anthony. 



[It is well to bear in mind that a comb stretches 

 somewhat after it is drawn out. Ordinary combs, 

 especially naturally built store combs, will generally 

 stretch slightly on a vertical line after being filled 

 with honey. The period of storing is usually during 

 hot weather, and as the ventilation of the hive is not 

 always perfect, the entire temperature of the hive 

 will rise slightly above normal, if the hive is not 

 shaded. The result will be that the new comb will 

 stretch slightly. We have never seen any evidence 

 that combs stretch after the first year. Wiring, ei- 

 ther vertical or horizontal, tends to check the stretch- 

 ing afer the combs are built; but vertical wiring will 

 correct this tendency more than horizontal. But a 

 vertically wired comb will be wavy, while a horizon- 

 tally wired one will be as flat as a board. The rea- 

 son for this is that foundation, in the process of 

 drawing out, expands both vertically and horizon- 

 tally. The sag of horizontal wiring takes care of the 

 sag of the comb downward, and the wires prevent 

 lateral expansion, leaving the surface smooth. — Ed.] 



Introducing by Smoke Method to a Laying-worker 

 Colony 



In regard to the smoke method of introduction, I 

 introduced three queens the first part of March, two 

 to laying-worker colonies and one to a colony having 

 capped brood. The queens were accepted, and were 

 laying in four days in the colony; have capped brood 

 and one laying-worker colony, while the one in the 

 other laying-worker colony was killed and dragged 

 out after the fourth day. This is my first experience 

 in introducing in any way. 



I have always been told that bees do better if set 

 in the sun, but I have my doubts whether it will 

 work here or not in this part of the country, as the 

 temperature reaches 120 degrees in mid-summer. 



Our bees are in Langstroth hives with Madary 

 ventilated covers. By giving ventilation at the bottom 

 along with the ventilated covers, would it also be 

 necessary to provide shade in the heat of the sum- 

 mer ? and how much heat will combs of brood stand 

 covered with bees ? 



There was some discussion as to chico or grease- 

 wood, it being the last plant in the fall from which 

 bees gather pollen. They will be seen working on this 

 as late as the first week in November. 



Las Vegas, Nev., March 18. J. M. Miller. 



[The ventilated cover with ventilation at the bot- 

 tom might not be sufficient to keep the bees cool in 

 some parts of California. The Arizona plan of shad- 

 ing, as illustrated in the ABC and X Y Z of Bee 

 Culture, would be an excellent one to use. It con- 

 sists of a long shed having a roof of dried grass and 

 weeds. This is held down by wires stretched over 

 the top. This shed should run directly east and 



